Exploring collaboration opportunities in the Beninese water sector

The Water Support Programme (WSP) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invites the Dutch water sector to a meeting on collaboration opportunities between the Netherlands and Benin under the water programme of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Benin. The meeting, jointly organised by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), will be held on Thursday 3 December in The Hague and Cotonou. Limited online participation will also be available.

The Dutch Embassy in Benin runs a multi-year programme on water, which offers opportunities for Dutch and Beninese organisations to collaborate on water-related topics. This programme consists of three components:

Cooperation with the Beninese government, which entails funding to the Beninese government for the implementation of activities within the water programme.
Cooperation with non-governmental organisations, which also entails funding for relevant activities.
Technical assistance to support the implementation and monitoring of the water programme, alongside substantive work on groundwater management and broader water management.

Focus: technical assistance

During the WSP Benin meeting, special attention will be given to the technical assistance aspect. This component, still under development, is expected to have three main areas of work consisting of:

the provision of technical expertise on, among other things, groundwater research, the availability and sustainable use of aquifers, groundwater recharge, data collection and monitoring, and potential applications of AI;
assistance in overseeing the implementation of the other programme’s components ― this includes technical assessments, reporting, progress monitoring, risk analyses and evaluation of results; and
assistance with consortium building. The Embassy aims to explore the possibility of forming a consortium with a combination of organisations with technical expertise and working experience in project management and support.

Meeting programme

The meeting will be opened by Head of Cooperation of the Dutch Embassy in Cotonou, who will share his vision for cooperation between Benin and the Netherlands. The tentative programme includes:

an overview of emerging opportunities in Benin for the Dutch sector, with a focus on technical assistance under the multi-annual water programme of the Dutch Embassy;
short company pitches from Beninese and Dutch private sector actors relevant to technical assistance; and
networking time over drinks.

Who should attend?

The meeting is particularly relevant to private-sector companies interesting in the Beninese water sector and developing consortia or joint ventures. NGOs and research institutes are also welcome to share relevant expertise.
Companies interested in giving a short introduction to their services are invited to register using the form below.

Meeting details

Date: Thursday, 3 December 2026
Time: 14:00 to 17:00 CET
Locations:

NWP, Koningskade 40, 2596 AA The Hague
Dutch Embassy, Avenue Pape Jean-Paul II (derrière Tri Postal), Cotonou
Online

Further information, including online access and the final programme, will be shared with registered participants during the week before the meeting.

Questions

If you have questions related to the meeting programme or company presentations, please be contact Machteld Goossensen, NWP Project Officer or Caroline Figueres, advisor at the Dutch Embassy.